Rebecca Johnson
6/11/03 I have met with Dr. Li a few more times. My husband had open RNY on 2/3/03, and has done very well, losing 102 pounds. He has trouble with vomiting once in awhile if he eats to fast. Dr. Li wants me to try and lose 10-20 more pounds on top of the 15 I have already lost. So maybe next month he will finally give me a surgery date if I have lost what he wants. I am doing atkins, and trying hard. I wish I had a scale that could weigh me so I at least know if I am on the right track.
8/3/03 I got approved for surgery last month after the first letter sent by Dr. Li's office. Last time I saw Dr. Li he said to lost 20 more pounds before he would schedule my surgery. So I was trying. Then 2 weeks ago, his scheduler calls and says she wants to give me a surgery date. So I said "Okay I'll take one!" So my surgery is scheduled for September 12th, my preop testing at Mills Peninsula will be August 22nd. So I am still trying to lose weight because I don't want Dr. Li to cancel my surgery for some reason. I am excited and scared. My husband had surgery in March, so he thinks it's no big deal. My mom will be coming down to stay with us for a month after surgery to help out with the kids and the house while my husband is at work. I just keep trying to stay positive and thing about the good things this surgery will bring. I have made out my will which can bring life into prospective. I can't wait to get this surgery over with and be on the losing side!
8/20/03 Last time I went to the see Dr. Li I was right at 400 pounds and hadn't lost anyweight since the time before, he was not happy. I was just happy I hadn't gained. My husband went to see Dr. Li this past monday for a checkup and he had lost 55 more pounds, so he's down from 412 the day of surgery 298 now. That incredible! You can see and feel his collar bones now. I go to my preop appointment this friday 8/22/03. I have been trying to stay at 1800 calories, and have been riding my stationary bike. Dr. Li told my husband I should be riding it for 1/2 hour everyday! Hello? I am a 400 pound woman who has been sedentary most her life. So I have beem working up to it. Right now I can ride 2 miles in about 10 minutes, going 12 miles an hour. It really gets my heart rate up. I will just keep trying to build up to that 1/2 hour he wants. I know it's all for my own good! I will write more after my preop on friday!
8/22/03 I had my preop appointment today at the hospital. I was as nervous as I would be if I was going in for surgery instead of some routine tests and paperwork. It just hit home that this is all really going to happen in 3 weeks. I signed their papers, appointing my husband as power of attorney to pull the plug should something happen. I had some blood drawn and and EKG. Then I went upstairs and had a nutrition class about what to eat after surgery. Another class was about what to expect during and after surgery. The lady giving the class seemed so calm about it. It's all so routine to her. I saw Dr. Li, and he said I still have a chance of having the RNY done lap. I have lost 6 more pounds since my last visit, which is encouraging! I am going to keep up what I have been doing, with the diet and exercise on the bike, and hopefully I will have it lap. It takes longer for lap, 4 hours as opposed to 2 for open. But the hospital stay and recovery are faster.
8/26/03
Dr. Li's scheduler Michelle called today and pushed my surgery back a week to September 19. That screws up everyone's birthday party plans, and travel plans, and work plans. I hope it was for a good reason! I am frustrated and tired of waiting.
9/16/03
Only 3 more days until surgery. I am soooo ready for this to be overwith. My mom has come down from Oregon to help my husband with the kids and the housework, and of course to be with me during this time. I can't wait to have the surgery over, and the weight to start coming off. I will post again after my surgery.
9/25/03
My surgery went well, Dr. Li was able to do it lap which was a great relief! He said to me in the hall right before surgery I had a 50/50 chance of having it lap. So when I started coming to in recovery the first thing I asked the nurse was "lap?" and she said yes, everything went great! I was only in the hospital 3 1/2 days. I have had little to no pain. It mosly just hurt to breath deeply the first few days, like someone kicked me in the gut. But I am so happy it's over. I am getting depressed about the stage 2 of the diet though. It's been hard to watch other's eating pasta, and ribs while I sit there with my little cup of jello. But I know it's only for a little while, while my new pouch heals! I go to the dr.'s on monday for my 1 week post op check up, and I can't wait to see how much I have lost. I am hoping for at least 20 pounds. I am just glad the surgery is over. I wanted to run out of the hospital so bad before the surgery! I kept thinking about changing my mind, when the man came to wheel me to surgery, I lost it and started crying. I got control of myself only to start crying again in the OR as the nurses started my IV. I was sooo scared. I still can't believe I stayed. I guess the inner me just knew that everything would be alright, and this was for the best. So if you are reading this and are scared, that's normal, and that's good. It means you understand that this surgery is very serious and not just an easy way out.
9/29/03 Just got back from my 10 day post op appointment, and I was down 28 pounds! Dr. Li said that seemed like a lot, but that it was probably mostly water weight. Water it was I am glad it's gone. I can see my face getting a little thinner, and it's easier to walk. So I weight 360 now! When I was a Preop I scanned these profiles looking to see what peoples experiences where in the hospital. So I am going to write mine to help other preops.
MY DAY OF SURGERY- In the morning I got up, and took a very long shower because I knew it would be my last for a while. I washed my hair twice. Then my mom, my husband and I drove to the hospital which is an hour away from my house. When I got there I checked in at the desk, and the lady took me to an examining type room and had me change into a gown, and put my id bracelet on. She took my vitals. My mom and husband stayed with me the whole time. Then after a while they brought a gernie, and I got on. The gernie man wheeled me onto the elevator, my mom and husband came with. When we got to the surgery floor, he took me out of the elevator, and my mom and husband said their goodbyes and goodlucks. I was trying really hard not to cry or jump off the gernie and run out of the hospital, as I was terrified at this point. The gernie man then wheeled me through the doors to the or's and set me in the hallway and said it will be a few minutes. This is when I lost it. I started crying, and he said it will be okay. I said I know I am just nervous. Then a lady came up to me in scrubs and said she was Dr. Carpenter, the anestesiologist (sp?). She was very nice, and said everything was okay, and to relax. She told me that I had 2 choices, to breathe deeply through an oxygen mask for 5 deep breathes before she intubated me through the throat while I was asleep, or she would intubate me through the nose while I was awake. This was an issue because she knew that I had a problem with claustrophobia and my cpap mask, so keeping an O2 mask on for that long would be hard for me. But I said I wanted to try because I didn't want to be awake while intubated through the nose. Then Dr. Li came out and talked to me, he said there was a 50/50 chance of doing it lap as opposed to open. I said okay , what else could I say. Then I was wheeled in the OR. I couldn't see alot because they had taken my glasses. But there was a lot of machinary, and bright lights, and it smelled very anteseptic. They told me to get on the operating table which seemed very small. Then they had to rests for my arms to lay on.I started crying. I was soooo scared. Dr. Carpenter started to try and ask me about my family to get my mind off the fact that she was puttint the IV in. The next thing I remember, they were putting the oxygen mask on me telling me to breathe. I started to push it away and say no, but they said relax so I did. That is the last thing I remember before waking up in recovery. It was a big room with lots of beeping things, and I just had a nasal canyon O2 mask, I was not intubated! My eyes I kept closed most of the time, as I was so tired. Someone placed the morphine pump in my hand. I whispered "lap"? and a nurse spoke in my ear, "yes, it was lap, and everything went great. We are waiting for transport to take you to your room." So then I knew I had made it through! And it was lap! I was so happy, I pushed my little morphine pump and went back to sleep. Next thing I remember 2 guys are wheeling me to the elevator, where the bed got stuck, and they were rocking the bed back and forth to get it out. That hurt! I said stop! But they got me out and took me to a private room, where my mom and husband where. I don't remember much after that of that day. I was in and out of it, in little to no pain, and was comfortable.
3/19/04
It has been a long time since I have updated. For about 3 months after my last update, I was very nauseous all the time! I was mad for having surgery. I had to stay in bed all day because I would throw up as soon as I sat up. I didn't want to eat anything. My dr. couldn't figure out what was wrong. I was in the hospital 2 more times getting fluids for dehydration, and I had my stoma stretched a little to see if that would help but it didn't. My dr. said that I was just super sensitive to surgery. He tried different anti naseau meds but those just made me tired. My mom came and stayed with me for awhile to take care of the kids and the house, I just couldn't do it. But then one day, my nausea magically went away. I am down over a hundred pounds now, and I am happy I had the surgery. I have so much energy, and I can eat almost anything in small amounts. I would do it again in a second. I haven ow moved to Oregon, where my husband and I took a new job. It's beautifully here, and I am so happy. So if you are having problems with nausea hang in there it will pass!
4/2/04
Things are going great I am down to a 2x/3x from a 5x before surgery! It is so fun to be able to shop at Wal Mart now! I weigh 276 today. My husband says I am going to catch up with him. He is at 265. He has stayed there for a few months now, and it's been over a year since surgery. So he thinks maybe he is done losing. We will see.
6/23/04
Here it is a few months later. I am now at 254lbs. I am so happy with my new body. I am so glad I did this. I am able to eat pretty much anything I want, just in small amounts. I have a hard time not eating and drinking at the same time, but I usually get sick if I drink more than just a little. My husband has lost more also he is down to 248lbs. I plan on going camping for the first time this summer, and will be able to feel about about myself while doing it. I was able to walk on the beach last weekend, in the sand without huffing and puffing.
10/1/05
It has been so long since Ihave updated this! I had a baby 6 months ago, with no problems. I had 2 children previously when I was heavy, and this pregnancy was nothing like those. It was so easy. I never even felt pregnant until the very end. Most people didn't know I was pregnant unless I told them. I would like to be thinner, but I have stayed at 222 for about 6 months now. That is what my goal weight was from Dr. Li, so maybe it's where my body wants to be. I am happy with that weight.
